Art Theater of Davis Presents The Seagull

The Art Theater of Davis will present its next show, “The Seagull,” outdoors at the Davis Cemetery under a full moon.

The May 7 performance will be preceded by a short talk with actors and artists from the production team, emceed by Andy Jones, poet laureate of Davis, beginning at 7 p.m. and lasting approximately 20 minutes. The show will immediately follow.

The unusual performance schedule, spaced a month apart, is designed around the expected full moon that will be visible in the sky during the performances. Timothy Nutter, artistic director of Art Theater of Davis, is co-producing this show with Kristi Dvorak, community outreach director at the Davis Cemetery. Thanks to a grant from the Davis Civic Arts Program, the Art Theater of Davis is able to pay the 12 actors and other staff small stipends for their work on this show.

This classic Russian play from 1896 mixes comedy and drama, bringing to life a dozen contrasting characters on a country estate at the turn of the century. In “The Seagull,” Anton Chekhov dramatizes the conflict of generations by setting two successful and conservative artists — Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina and Boris Trigorin — against two young, idealistic, aspiring artists — Konstantin Gavrilovich and Nina Zarechnaya.

This show will feature original music composed by Jonathan Favero. Costumes will be designed by Joanna Johnson and Tim Kerbavaz will serve as technical director.

As in past productions, the show will use an original translation/adaptation of Chekhov’s script, which Nutter wrote with the assistance of Marina Shatskikh, a student of Russian literature at UC Davis.